The Light in my life
by Sakura Rikami
Summary: Hinata is engaged to the Kazekage in order to maintain political balances between Konoha and the Sand village.When Neji is forced to marry Hanabi, Hinata is thrown into the depths of darkness. Would she turn to the Kazekage and develop feelings for him?
1. No matter what, I'll protect you

Prologue: Hinata is engaged to the Kazekage in order to maintain political balances between Konoha and the Sand village. However, since she already has feelings for Neji, Hinata strongly objects. When Neji is forced to marry Hanabi, Hinata is thrown into the depths of darkness. Would she turn to the Kazekage and develop feelings for him? Or would she forever be tied to her cousin by the strings of destiny?

* * *

Chapter One: No matter what, I'll protect you

A bright light shone onto Hinata Hyuuga's face. Frowning, she used her right hand to shield her face from the light.

"Hinata-sama…Hinata-sama…" a voice sounded as she felt a hand shaking her gently.

Groaning, Hinata rolled to her right side, with her back facing the person. "Not now…Solei…" She called out, apparently thinking that it was her caretaker who was disturbing her. It could not have been her father as he rarely cares about her. Neither would it be Hanabi, her sister nor her mother since she had passed away when Hinata was very young.

"But…Hinata-sama…" The voice pleaded.

Suddenly, a thought hit her and her eyes fluttered open. The voice sounded like a male. The only person, who would call her 'Hinata-sama' AND is a guy, would be…

**Oh god. Please don't let it be...** Hinata prayed hard.

Turning around, she came face to face with a very familiar face. The white eyes of the Hyuuga family stared at her worriedly. Long black hair which fell behind his back was tied neatly and a band was worn on his forehead to cover the mark of the Hyuuga branch family. He was wearing his usual white t-shirt and shorts with a couple of bandages on his arms and legs. Kneeling down, he was looking at her intently with a hint of relief that she had finally woken up.

"Ne…Neji nii-san. What…are you doing here…?" she tried to ask, but all that came out was a whisper. She really wanted to fuss about her hair and such, but she was too stunned at the moment.

Apparently a little awkward, Neji blushed and apologized before replying, "Um…Well…I've been training a lot with your father recently...and not spending much time with you…So I was…uh…"

Hinata went all red. **Neji-niisan noticed small things like that as well?**

Neji looked away and finished his sentence. "I meant…that I wanted to ask you out for today. Will…you accept??"

Hinata's face lit up immediately. "Of course!" she smiled and sat up on the bed. "But…you would have to wait a while for me to get dressed. Is it okay with you?"

Neji nodded and walked out of her room. Once he was gone, Hinata buried her face into the soft toy she was holding. "Oh my god…" she could hardly breathe at that moment. She broke into a smile and then hurried off to get changed.

Just outside the room, Neji walked to the pillar nearby and leaned forwards against it. "Maybe…I shouldn't have just walked into her room like that." His thoughts wandered a little and he found himself seeing the image of Hinata sitting up on her bed with a soft white bear in her hands and smiling. "What the-" His face went all red. After all, his cousin WAS kind of cute…and it was the first time he saw her with messy hair.

Now he knew, why people always say that many guys find girls with 'just-awake-from-bed' hair unusually irresistible.

"Now that I notice, Hinata-sama…Looks really cute with long hair…" He muttered to himself.

A few minutes went by and tumbling sounds were heard coming from Hinata's room. Neji waited patiently, but somehow could not stop his curiosity. What WAS Hinata doing in her room that made so much noise? It was as if she kept falling down or something.

"I'm ready!" An excited Hinata slammed open the doors, dressed in a beautiful kimono. "How does it look?" She walked up slowly to Neji and turned around for him to see. There was a cute little bow at the back and the cloth that was used to make the kimono was printed with flowers. The kimono was a light shade of pink and Hinata had a red ribbon at the end of her hair. "Look, I even tied the ribbon in such a way that it looks like your hairstyle!"

Neji just stared blankly at her.

"Neji nii-san?" Hinata asked apprehensively when she realized that she was not getting a response.

Neji shook his head to clear it and then spoke, "You look great, Hinata-sama." Somehow, Neji felt like he was lying. Hinata did not simply look 'great'; in fact, she looked completely gorgeous and totally huggable from head to toe.

Hinata giggled and then held onto his hands before practically dragging him out of the door. "Come on, Neji nii-san! I want to go to the festival nearby!"

The two walked off, with Hinata clinging onto Neji and smiling.

"Oh my…aren't those two a little active in the morning?" Hinata's caretaker giggled. "Take care, the both of you!" Then she proceeded to close the front door.

* * *

"Hey Neji-niisan…" Hinata started.

"Ye-Yeah…?"

Hinata prodded him and watched his reaction. "You're walking…all stiffly. Are you alright?"

Neji shook his head and tried his best to look at Hinata. "I'm…fine." Hinata smiled sweetly once more and offered him some cotton candy.

**I think I'm going to go insane.** Neji took the cotton candy and ate it as Hinata watched.

She asked Neji about the taste and all he could do was to nod. For the first time ever, Hyuuga Neji felt so helpless. Hinata was only dressed in a kimono and it was killing him.

**Self-control…self-control…**

Suddenly, Hinata stopped in front of a stall. She looked at the goldfishes in the tank longingly. Neji followed her gaze and realized that she wanted a goldfish to bring home. "Hinata-sama, wait here for me. I'll be back soon."

He ran over to the stall and paid the person. Then he went and skillfully caught a goldfish for Hinata. Carrying the tiny bag filled with water and the goldfish, Neji rushed back to her.

"Here. You wanted this, didn't you?" Neji plopped the bag into her hands and smiled at her. Hinata simply stared at the bag for a moment and then she hugged Neji.

"Thank you! Neji-niisan!" She exclaimed with joy and forgot about all the people staring at them.

Neji was being embarrassed about getting hugged by Hinata when he picked up a weird feeling. Looking around, he spotted a sand ninja staring intently at them. However, when he realized that Neji was looking at him as well, he quickly dashed off.

A little worried, Neji pulled Hinata's hands off him and whispered into her ear. "Hinata-sama. Something isn't right. We better go somewhere else, just in case."

Hinata nodded after seeing the look on his face. The two Hyuugas managed to escape from the sight of the sand ninja and found themselves beside the lake near the place where the festival is being held.

"Why was…a sand ninja following us?" Neji asked as he tried to catch his breath.

Hinata shook her head and replied that she does not know. Just then, a firework display brightened up the night sky, causing Hinata to gasp in amazement.

"Look, Neji-niisan!" she called out as she pointed to the fireworks that were each flashing different colors as they were shot up into the sky.

Neji watched Hinata as her eyes shone brightly from happiness and the light given off by the fireworks. He felt as though he lost control of himself and only can watch as he approached her.

Neji held Hinata's hand and she turned to face him, knowing that he seemed to want to tell her something. "Hinata-sama…Let's stay like this forever. Shall we?"

"Ne…Neji-niisan?" She was a little afraid. Though she had always liked her cousin, his sudden actions still caused quite a stir in her emotions.

It was then he bent down and kissed her. For a moment, Hinata thought she felt her heart stop. Somehow, all the fear she felt a while ago had vanished. She loved Neji, she really did. He used to be everything to her and he is now. Neji's lips brushed against hers softly as he caressed her face with his right hand.

After what seemed like an eternity, he broke off from the kiss. Hinata was sure that she caught him blushing. "I…I'm sorry…If I caused you trouble by…behaving like that."

Hinata paused for a moment and then smiled. "Sure."

Neji stared at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "Huh…?"

She held his hand and looked at him. Hinata felt great resolve flowing through her. It was time for her to tell him.

"I don't mind…staying with you forever."

The news stunned Neji a little, but he soon recovered and held her close to him. "Hinata…"

She smiled and hugged him back. It was the first time he called her name in that way. There was no status, no bloodlines. They were all that mattered. Hinata felt the tears flow down her cheeks. Neji was always there for her…no matter what. Images flashed across her mind and she was reminded of his promise to her.

* * *

:Flashback in Hinata's memories:

Hinata sat in bed quietly, looking at the white doves which played happily outside her window.

"That poor child has been sick for quick some time already…" an elderly woman spoke from outside the door.

"I know." Another voice sounded. It was her father. "That's why I made Hanabi my successor. Hinata isn't going to live long at this rate."

A sharp pain sliced across Hinata's heart. Her own father…her beloved father…was actually saying such things about her. He even managed to say it in a cold tone.

"Hinata-sama!" The room's door was slammed open by a young boy and he went forward to check if she was alright.

"Neji…niisan." Hinata mutter softly.

He looked at her worriedly. "Are you feeling okay?" Hinata nodded and gave a faint smile. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry…" Then she looked down, apparently still being bothered by her father's words.

Neji gritted his teeth angrily. "How could your father…say such things about you?"

"It's okay. He never really loved me anyway. Because he felt that I am weak."

Neji watched her with a sad look on his face. He simply did not know how to comfort her. Then he decided to make a promise.

"Hinata-sama…No matter what happens; I would always be here for you. Even if anything happens to you, I would stay by your side forever. I promise."

Hinata smiled back at him.

:Flashback ends:

* * *

Last time, she thought that he pitied her, or maybe it was simply because he was assigned to protect her. Therefore…she did not really take it to heart.

Yet she knew better now…

He really meant it when he said those words.

"Come on…Let's go home." Hinata spoke softly as she held Neji's hand and walked home with him. It was like their childhood days, when Neji always protected Hinata from any harm. He used to hold her hand often as well, since he always had this overwhelming sense of protection towards her. However, this time it was different.

This time, everything is going change.

* * *

Sakura: Alright. First chapter done! Please feel free to ask questions, read and review. No flames though. I'll try to answer your questions as soon as I can. Watch out for the next chapter, when Hinata is being engaged to the Kazekage! 


	2. The Kazekage's bride?

Chapter Two: The Kazekage's bride?!

* * *

"Kazekage-sama…" A voice sounded behind the red haired boy. Sighing, he frowned and asked, "What is it this time?"

The messenger nodded and answered, "They have arranged a marriage for you. The elders say that it is to continue the family line of the Kazekage."

Laughing coldly, the Kazekage turned around and gave a thoughtful look at the messenger. He immediately felt the frightening aura and flinched a little before going onto a higher guard.

"How interesting. They think that a wife could possibly keep me busy…or are they still afraid of me?"

The messenger shook his head. "I don't know…sir."

Gaara ignored the messenger and continued staring out of the window once more. "Anything else…? If not, you may leave."

"Y…Yes. There is more to this news."

…**I'm going to kill this guy. Then maybe I'll go finish off the elders…**

"Well?" Gaara growled slightly, apparently quite pissed at the idea of getting a wife. Alarmed, the messenger tried to back down but was surrounded by swirling sands. Realizing that he had no way out, he decided to take a risk. "It is said that they have invited the candidate over to meet you."

A yell of frustration was heard from Gaara and he slammed a fist onto the table. "They did WHAT?!"

"Kazekage-sama…Please…"

Before Gaara could lay a quick death on the messenger, Temari arrived on the scene. "Woah. Relax, Gaara." With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the poor messenger.

The Kazekage glared at his sister with his emerald eyes. He might be even angry enough to kill her as well. Temari simply smiled at Gaara and winked mischievously. "I think you'll like this bride of yours. Do you who she is?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

Ignoring his reply, Temari took an apple from his table and munched on it. After which, she delivered the worst news by far. "She's from the Hidden Leaf village, Konoha. Also, she is the eldest child of the Hyuuga main branch…Hyuuga Hinata."

Gaara's eyes widened. "Hyuuga…?"

Temari nodded. "Yes. The 'strongest clan' in the whole of Konoha. That's why you can't afford to screw this up, Gaara."

"Hmph. So they're using her as some kind of political sacrifice?"

Looking down with a hint of sadness, the yellow haired girl replied, "Somehow, yeah. The poor girl might not even know of this yet. So try to be nice to her, okay?"

"Be…nice?" Gaara's face evidently twitched a little. For someone who has grown up with no feelings at all except for the lust for killing and blood, Gaara is not exactly the type of person who would know how to 'be nice'.

"Gaara…?" Temari asked apprehensively.

"What?" came the annoyed reply.

"You really…freaked me out with that weird twitching look on your face."

"I wasn't twitching."

"Yes, you were."

"Whatever. Anyways, tell the elders…that she doesn't have to make the trip here personally." Gaara sat down and leaned back on the chair.

Temari put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "Haven't I told you to be nice to the poor girl? Now what? Are you rejecting her?"

With a shift movement, Gaara moved to Temari's side. "I didn't say…that I was rejecting her right? Even if I am, it's because I didn't even want this stupid marriage in the first place."

"Then…? What are your plans?"

When Temari turned around, she found herself staring into the emotionless face of her brother's. "I'll visit her. I need some fresh air anyways."

With that, the Kazekage walked out of the door and disappeared down the hallways. Temari simply stood in his office and frowned. "Honestly…although Gaara is much better now, he is still quite unstable. I really do hope he won't kill that poor girl. I've heard that she's sweet…Maybe…"

A sigh came from her lips. "Maybe she would be the one to save Gaara from his own darkness."

* * *

"Here, please have some tea father." A shy girl bowed to the Hyuuga clan leader, Hyuuga Hiashi.

"Thank you. Hinata."

Hinata then proceeded to call Neji in for tea break. "Neji-niisan! Stop for a while and come in for tea!" Her soft voice rang throughout the backyard and Neji stopped practicing to smile at her. "Coming!" he nodded.

When all three Hyuugas were sitting together, Hiashi decided to break the news. "Hinata."

"Yes…Father?" She looked at him with her pearl-like eyes.

Hiashi have recently developed more feelings for his eldest daughter, therefore this time he found it hard to break such hard news to her. Still, being the clan leader, he had to make a decision.

"Hinata…Konoha has engaged you to the Kazekage. The two of you are going to get married soon, but before that he's coming to visit you."

At this moment, Neji almost spat out his tea. "What…?" he tried to exclaim but felt like he had lost his voice.

"The…Kazekage?" Hinata uttered softly under her breath. Her mind was in a whirl, mostly shocked than curious.

Hiashi simply nodded and continued. "The reason why I am telling you two this…is because I've realized that recently, the both of you have been really close to each other."

Neji gritted his teeth and replied, "Since you know, then why did you agree to such a marriage?"

Hinata felt like crying. Why was everything going the wrong way?

Frowning, Hiashi called Hanabi in. "Because…while Hinata would marry the Kazekage and maintain the relationships between Konoha and the Sand Village, Neji you would be marrying Hanabi and become the official successor of the Hyuuga family."

The world inside of Hinata crumbled. Her eyes widened with shock and she gasped.

"No…father."

Hiashi looked away when Neji suddenly shouted. "You can't do this! I won't marry Hanabi!" His eyes were filled with anger and yet at the same time, fear. If he were to marry Hanabi, everything would be right for him. But Hinata would suffer being the Kazekage's wife. After all, Gaara was very well-known to be extremely violent and prone to killing.

"Hinata is MINE! She doesn't belong to anybody else!" Neji aimed an attack at Hiashi but it was dodged and with a quick move, Hiashi pressed a point on Neji's neck to knock him out.

"Calm down. There's nothing you can do."

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata ran forward to catch him. She held him in her arms as they both watched her father leave with Hanabi. Hinata swore that she had seen Hanabi grinning gleefully as she left.

"Oh no…What do we do now…?" She looked down and swept the stray hairs on her cousin's face.

"Crap…" Neji groaned as he slowly blacked out. "Don't…worry…I won't…let you…be taken away…" Then he closed his eyes.

Hinata knew that they had no choice. But the marriage was really untimely. It came right after the both of them decided to be with each other.

**If only…it came a little earlier…**

She looked down sadly at Neji. "I'm so sorry…Neji-niisan." A tear dropped down her cheek and fell onto his face.

"I'm really sorry…"

* * *

Neji slowly opened his eyes. He tried to adjust to the brightness of the room and managed to look around in no time. His head hurt like hell and as he sat up, Neji called out.

"Hinata…?" No response came.

Shaking his head, he stood up and walked to the door. Recognizing the view of the backyard, he realized that he was in Hinata's room. Solei, Hinata's caretaker, saw that he was awake and ran over to him.

"Oh my! You're finally awake, Neji-sama!" A look of worry came across her face.

"Solei…Where is Hinata…?"

The caretaker held his hands and looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Neji-sama! But please do a favor for me just this once! Please, I beg of you. Go bring Hinata-sama back!"

Neji stared at her. "What do you mean…? Where is Hinata?"

The caretaker was close to tears and she hurriedly explained, "The blow Hiashi-sama gave to you had knocked you out for three whole days! Hinata-sama was taking care of you all this time, but today is the day she is going to see the Kazekage!"

Neji slapped his forehead. "What IS she thinking?"

Solei let go of him and started crying. "Hinata-sama has no choice; she said it's all because she wanted you to be happy…"

Without further explanations, Neji practically dashed off. "The venue is at the Hokage office! Please hurry!" Solei's voice shouted from behind.

Running through the crowd, Neji muttered, "Damn! How the heck can I be happy when she's going to be some kind of political sacrifice?!"

* * *

The Kazekage leaned against the wall in the Hokage office as Tsunade examined him from head to toe.

"Looks like you've grown." She implied.

Gaara ignored her and kept staring at the door.

**This Hyuuga Hinata person…What is she like…? Better not be like Temari or I might kill her on the spot.**

The big wooden doors opened and Hinata stepped in. Gaara took a look at her and concluded, "She's nothing much."

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara shook his head. "So…you're Hyuuga Hinata." His cold eyes narrowed as he spoke to her.

"Y…Yes. I am." Hinata looked down onto the floor. She was still upset about the sudden news and somehow, she was quite afraid of the Kazekage.

Frowning, Gaara went forward and lifted her chin up with his right hand before glaring at her. "You know…You should look at me when I'm talking to you."

Hinata's eyes immediately filled with tears. A little surprised, Gaara let go and he took a step back.

**What the hell is wrong with her…?** He could not help but be quite irritated by Hinata, yet somehow he had this weird guilty feeling inside of him.

It was then Hinata look up and focused her eyes on him. Gaara knew that look too well.

**It's that kind of look people give me when they either hate or despise me.**

Hinata wiped her tears and spoke calmly. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I apologize, if I was being rude a moment ago."

It was rather frightening scene in the Hokage's room by now. Considering that Gaara himself is already very intimidating, Hinata is also quite angry by now. In fact, she was practically driven by anger.

Finally, Gaara gave a wicked smile. "Interesting…You're the first one to stand up to me like that. Not exactly bad…for a wife I suppose."

"I am NOT your wife." Hinata cursed in anger.

Gaara swept her off her feet and carried her in a bridal style. "Oh…You will be soon."

"What?! Let me go!" Hinata struggled to push him aside.

Tsunade stopped him and gave him a warning look. "Please respect yourself. If you ever hurt her, the whole of the Sand Village would incur the wrath of Konoha."

Gaara stared back at her defiantly. "Do I look like a monster to you? I'm just bringing her out for a walk."

"Then why is there the need to carry her like that?"

Gaara sighed. "At this rate, she's going to have my hand off in a minute. How else am I going to drag her out for a walk?" They both stared at the still struggling Hinata.

"Let. Me. Go!" she attempted to bite Gaara and hit him on the head.

"…You have a point there." Tsunade gave up and went back to her desk. "I'll be in here, if you need any help."

Gaara carried Hinata out of the Hokage office and onto the main streets of Konoha. He let her go and cocked his head to one side.

"So, are you going to show me around or not?"

Hinata frowned and slapped him. "You monster! H…How dare you treat me like that!" Then she ran off into the crowd, her tears scattering like pearls onto the ground.

The poor Kazekage stood there, holding a hand to his slightly red cheek. Temari appeared and commented, "Ouch."

"Great. She's a violent person." The red haired boy rubbed his cheek spitefully.

"Not really. I heard she was rather sweet. You must have been bad to her."

Looking up at Temari, Gaara growled. "How 'nice' do you want me to be? It's not like I never tried."

"Don't lie to me, Gaara. The word 'nice' doesn't exist in your dictionary." Temari shook her head and jumped down to the same level as him.

"Hmph."

* * *

Sakura: Chapter two is up! Once again, please read and review. Feel free to ask questions and no flames please. Next chapter: The light of my life. 


	3. The Light of my life

Sakura: Okay…here's the answer session for all those with questions:

For Mic Mic:

Glad you liked the story. Well, to be honest, I was a little hesitant between who to choose for Hinata in the end. I was once a NejiHinata fan (and still am), but I've recently started liking GaaraHinata pairs more. So I'll most probably dedicate this story to Gaara and Hinata.

For all the others:

I'm glad you all enjoyed the story and here's the third chapter! There would be more GaaraHinata scenes and a couple of battle scenes. Thanks to all for the good reviews!

* * *

Chapter Three: The Light of my life 

After running away from the Kazekage, Hinata found herself by a nearby river.

Sitting down, she decided to relax a little and calm herself down. "Maybe…I shouldn't have slapped him like that. He IS the Kazekage after all." Hinata looked at her reflection in the water. Her pearl white eyes gazed back at her while her long hair flowed gracefully in the wind.

"I'm not really pretty at all. In fact, I'm sure the Kazekage would have liked either Sakura or Ino than compared to me." A little bit frustrated, she threw a pebble into the water and cause ripples which broke her reflection apart. In her mind, she was very convinced that the Kazekage needed someone who was stronger in willpower and strength to match him. To her, both Sakura and Ino were very pretty and intelligent, therefore it was quite obvious that either one of them should be the Kazekage's bride and not her.

"Hinata! There you are!" a voice sounded from behind her.

Turning around, she caught the sight of a familiar female who tied her hair into two buns and wore clothes which resembled the Chinese people. The girl stopped beside her and tried to catch her breath before continuing, "I…finally…found you…"

Hinata stood up and patted her back, "What's wrong, Tenten?"

Tenten tried to look angry and frowned at her. "You caused a lot of trouble, you know."

"What trouble did I cause?" Hinata asked innocently, apparently still oblivious to the current situation.

The Chinese girl flicked Hinata's forehead with her fingers.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?" she covered her forehead with her hands and winced in pain.

"Do you know how worried Neji is about you? He's been looking for you for a couple of hours already! At this rate, he'll tear down Konoha in a day's time."

Hinata gasped. "Neji-niisan is awake?"

"Yeah…he is now currently...uh…how should we say…ah yes. He is now currently 'freaking' out." Tenten sighed. It was the first time she had seen Neji act like that and to think that they were group mates for a very long time already.

Hinata looked away and frowned slightly. "I can't go back to him."

Tenten stared at her like she thought that Hinata was insane. "Why?"

"I'm the Kazekage's fiancée…this is a fact that won't change. If he sees me now, it'll only hurt him. Don't you understand? I can't hurt Neji-niisan anymore!" Hinata was rather close to tears but held it back as she knew that crying won't help matters.

"But-" Before Tenten could continue with what she wanted to say, a hand came from behind and knocked her out.

"Tenten!"

Hinata grabbed her and took a glance at the person who knocked Tenten out. There was a bandana with a musical note on his forehead and he was totally wrapped up in his uniform which is made up of mostly black, white and gray. There were a couple of bandages on his hands and he seemed to be sneering at them.

"A sound ninja?" Hinata searched the area for more of them as she knew very well that they would not travel alone. "Byaakugan!" She yelled and activated her blood limit. Within a second, she spotted a couple more ninjas and decided that the odds were against her.

"Three…four…No. there's around six of them." She muttered to herself.

To make matters worse, they seem to be all from the higher ranks in their country. Being alone, it was impossible for Hinata to deal with them.

"Not good…if only we spotted them earlier." She tensed herself and got ready for battle.

The first sound ninja who appeared walked towards her and spoke in an irritating voice, "So…this is the future wife of the Kazekage." Another appeared and sniggered. "Not bad. Blood limit eh?"

"Think Orochimaru-sama would like to have her eyes?" The rest of them came into the light and each laughed at the plight in which Hinata and Tenten were in.

Hinata left Tenten by a tree and stood up to face them. "It's me you want. So please don't hurt her."

One of the sound ninjas pulled out a Kunai and spoke arrogantly, "Only one person is needed to take you down, missy. So let's play." Hinata glared at him and went into the Hyuuga family's fighting stance. The sound ninja did not hesitate at all and went in for the kill. Hinata lifted her palm and slammed it into his body, stopping his action and shutting off all his chakra with shift movements from her fingers. Without his chakra, the sound ninja could not perform any skills and was rather useless. Hinata dealt a final blow to him and he flew back by a few metres.

"Who's next?" Hinata stood her ground. She was not going to let some insane ninjas kidnap her easily.

It was then that all the other sound ninjas tensed up. They stared at the small figure of the girl in front of them and wondered: **Where did she get so much strength from?** There was a look in her eyes which somehow made them a little wary. She had so much determination to fight till the very end. Unless someone manages to either knock her out or kill her, it is very unlikely that she would stop her attacks.

"Alright, I'll go." A second sound ninja finally broke the silence. This time, it was a female. But before she could do anything, a sharp piercing scream was sent vibrating through the hot afternoon's air. Hinata let her guard drop for a moment to peer at the cause of the terrible sound. The vision of what she saw made her a little afraid, but she continued protecting Tenten.

There was sand…and a lot of it as well.

The swirling sand swooshed around three of the sound ninjas and they were rendered helpless by the sudden ambush. Slowly, the sand enveloped them and covered every single part of them except for their faces.

"Foolish people." A cold voice sounded.

The three clumps of sand were lifted into the air and someone was seen holding an umbrella behind them.

Hinata gasped. "Gaara."

He was looking down; a weird expression came across his face. It was an expression of loneliness and yet anger. Hinata did not know whether to stop him at the moment, but she did not have the time to even think about it. At that moment, he spoke, "Did you really think that you would get away with this?" He raised a hand towards the screaming sound ninjas.

"Sabaku Sousou! (Desert Graveyard)"

Hinata watched in horror as the three tight clumps of sand practically exploded in midair. There was a final scream from the ninjas and then their blood spilled all over the ground and onto the floor. Gaara, of course, used the umbrella so as to refrain from being dirtied. There was a shuffling sound and Gaara was seen to be heading towards Hinata.

After watching their comrades get killed by such a cruel method, the remaining two sound ninjas tried to escape. Yet they did not get far before the sand reached their bodies the way it did with the previous victims. Gaara lifted his right hand once again and was prepared to kill.

"Wait!" Hinata called out. "Don't do it!"

She rushed towards Gaara's side and held onto his raised arm. "What's the matter with you?" He frowned. Hinata shook her head and looked into his eyes.

"It's already enough. So don't do it anymore."

The Kazekage hesitated for a moment before putting his arm down. The sand covering the remaining sound ninjas dispersed and they quickly made their escape. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. She was quite afraid that Gaara would not listen to her and go on with his killing.

As Hinata turned around to bring Tenten over, Gaara grabbed her left arm and pulled her back. With their faces only a few centimeters apart, he asked her, "They tried to kill you. So why did you let them off?" Hinata felt herself blushing. Maybe Gaara did not notice, but they were too close for comfort. Struggling to answer and look away at the same time, Hinata answered. "It was because there was no need for pointless killing."

"It wasn't pointless." Gaara replied stubbornly.

**Oh my god…Gaara let go please!** Hinata felt like she was going to die from blushing.

At this point, Gaara noticed her unusual behavior and extremely awkward face. He touched her forehead with his free hand and asked, "What's wrong? Are you having a fever?"

Hinata almost exploded. **This isn't good! He's too dense to realize that he's the one who is causing me so much discomfort!**

Finally, she managed to pull apart from Gaara's grip and face him properly. "I…I'm fine! Just...don't get so close to me!" Upon hearing her words, Gaara's face darkened once more.

"Do you…really hate me that much?"

Hinata stood silently for a moment. "No, I don't."

Gaara shifted uncomfortably and frowned, "There's no need to lie to me. You can say so if you feel that way." Apparently, he was still being bothered by the 'monster' thing.

Hinata bowed down before apologizing to him. "I'm sorry. I think…that I was a little harsh with the 'monster' thing."

"And…slapping me?" Gaara continued.

A little annoyed, Hinata nodded with hesitance. "Yes, AND about slapping you."

"Good." Came a satisfied reply.

Hinata slapped her forehead. **He's like a little kid who hates to lose.**

As Gaara was turning to leave, Hinata shouted out, "Gaa- I mean…Kazekage-sama! Thanks a lot for rescuing us today." The red haired boy stared at her for a moment and then walked back.

"Wha-?" Hinata was quite surprised when he held her hand. Looking at her with his emerald eyes, he said, "Come on. Let's go back."

"_Come on...Let's go home."_

Hinata was about to allow herself to be dragged off by Gaara when she suddenly had images of the time she once spent with Neji. Maybe heaven was trying to tell her not to forget about him? Without thinking, she forcibly broke apart from Gaara's grip once more.

"I…" Hinata looked at him sadly. "I...I'm sorry. I need to…I mean…"

Gaara just stared at her blankly. An irritated look soon came over his face and he muttered, "Fine. Do whatever you want." After which, he walked away without even turning back once to check if Hinata was going to be okay.

Sighing, Hinata picked Tenten up with quite a huge amount of effort. After walking a few steps, she collapsed onto the ground. "This isn't good. I can barely lift her."

Just as she was about to give up, a hand reached out and lifted Tenten's unconscious body off her. Hinata looked up in surprise and found herself staring at Neji.

**Uh oh.** Hinata got prepared for a scolding, but it did not come.

"Where have you been?" Neji gave her a look of worry.

Hinata shook her head and replied, "It's a long story."

Neji put down Tenten and hugged Hinata. "Hinata…you almost had my heart out just now." Hinata could not help but to feel sorry about making him worry about her. She gently hugged him back and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Neji broke away from their embrace and frowned at her. "Not those words again."

"Huh?"

Sweeping away her fringe, he kissed her on the forehead. "You've been apologizing to me since three days ago." Hinata looked down awkwardly. "You were awake then?"

Grinning mischievously, Neji nodded. "Yeah, I was. But only until after you apologized."

"I see." Hinata replied. "We better bring Tenten back first. Just in case she's injured or something."

Along the way back, Neji kept his eyes on Hinata as she was behaving rather strangely. It was as if she was worried about someone. She was trying to behave normally but it only made it even more obvious that something was bothering her. Also, her responses to him were less affectionate and colder. After a few minutes, Neji finally cracked and asked her, "Hinata, is something bothering you?"

As she was a little surprised at his sudden question, Hinata only barely managed to utter, "N…No."

* * *

"Gaara, where in the world have you been?" Temari complained the moment she saw the Kazekage walking towards her. 

"There was something urgent for me to do." He walked past her and right into the Hyuuga mansion as Hyuuga Hiashi had allowed them to stay there with them.

"Hey Gaara…" but before Temari could complete her sentence, Gaara slammed his room door on her.

"Ouch!" Temari groaned as she rubbed her nose which was hit by the door. "Go away." Gaara commanded from inside the room. Apparently extremely annoyed by him, Temari simply glared at the room door and stormed away.

Once he was alone in the room, Gaara took off all of the heavy clothing he had on and changed to something simpler and lighter. In the end, he was wearing a simple t-shirt with a hood at the back and long pants. Taking off his headband from his clothes as well, he put on a choker instead. The silver symbol of the sand village glittered in the light.

Trying to relax, he looked outside of his window at Konoha. It looked slightly like his village, but with more trees and less sand.

"So she thinks of me like all the rest." He muttered. It was nothing new to him. Yet somehow, there was a pain inside of him.

"Am I…really a monster?" He leaned against the window and put his hand onto the window sill and used it as a support for his head.

* * *

:Flashback in Gaara's memories: 

"Go away you monster! You're dangerous!" A group of boys yelled and threw stones at a younger looking Gaara.

_Why?_ Gaara was crying as he watched the boys continued their relentless attack on him. There was no need for him to block their attacks as the sand around him moved at lightning speed and deflected every single rock.

"But I…just wanted to…" Gaara tried to speak between tears.

"Shut up, you monster! We don't want to play with you!" The leader of the group yelled.

_Monster._ Gaara continued crying and in his panic, he accidentally set off the sand into a self-defense mode. Within a moment, the sand swirled dangerously around the group of boys. Half of the group escaped while screaming for their lives, but the rest were engulfed by the sand and the sand looked ready to eliminate them.

"Don't…don't go!" Gaara cried out as he watched the children flee for their lives.

There were screams of terror as the sand slowly compressed and squeezed the life out of them. Gaara was only filled with fear and only could watch as the children slowly suffocate.

"Gaara-sama! Please stop!" Someone called out.

:Flashback over:

* * *

Gaara looked up and whispered. "Yashamaru." 

He stood up, with a look of loneliness on his face once more. It was not supposed to be that way; he should have become happier after his fight with Naruto.

"It wasn't…supposed to be this way." Gaara clutched his shirt at where his heart was supposed to be. Slowly, he closed his eyes.

**It hurts.**

"Kazekage-sama…It's time for dinner." A voice sounded from outside.

There was no response and the person opened the door.

"Kazekage-sa…" The girl stopped short once she saw him, lying on the floor and seemingly…

She walked forwards and knelt down beside of him. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Gaara opened his eyes and took a look at the girl. She had long hair and had white pearl eyes which were the proof that she belonged to the Hyuuga clan. She was wearing a black t-shirt and a light-pink skirt. The light from outside blinded him a little and he could not see the rest of her face clearly.

"Hinata…?" he uttered.

The girl giggled and shook her head. "No. I'm her sister, Hanabi."

**Oh.** Gaara struggled to stand up. "Here…Let me help you." Hanabi offered as she reached out a hand. Gaara swept her hand away and replied, "There's no need to."

Hanabi watched as he stood up and got ready to walk away. A nasty smile came over her face. "If it was Hinata…I'm sure you would have let her help you."

The red haired boy stopped in his tracks.

Pleased at the results which her comment managed to achieve, Hanabi continued. "Too bad for you though. Hinata is with Neji-niisan now. You better hurry." There was a sarcastic tone in her voice which irritated Gaara.

"You're really different from your sister." He noted and then started to walking away once more.

Hanabi caught up with him and smiled. "Of course…Why wouldn't I be?"

The two entered the dining room and saw that Hiashi Hyuuga, Hinata, Neji and Temari were all seated. Neji was sitting right next to Hinata while Hiashi and Hanabi sat at the opposite ends of the tables. Temari pointed to the seat next to her and said, "Sit."

Gaara frowned and commented. "I'm not your dog."

Temari gave a forced smile. "Just take a seat."

**That woman is totally nervous about having dinner with them and she takes it all out on me.**

He sat down and realized that he was opposite of Hinata. She smiled weakly at him and nodded. Trying to be polite, he gave a nod back as well.

"So…you're the Kazekage?" Neji asked before they started the dinner.

**That guy is glaring at me.** "Yes."

"I see."

**I'm going to knock his face in. Self-control…Gaara…Self-control.**

The whole dinner was unbelievably quiet, considering that Temari was there as well. Gaara supposed that she was nervous and did not say anything.

"Kazekage-sama…" Hinata spoke up shyly.

Stunned, Gaara looked up and replied, "Yea?"

She gave an awkward look. "Please…eat more. You look like you're trying to starve yourself…"

Neji's eyes narrowed and he glared at Gaara.

_Current score: _

_Gaara 1_

_Neji 0_

"Whatever." Gaara almost ignored her and continued eating.

Neji looked like he was going to attack Gaara any moment soon. "How dare-" before he could finish, he was caught by Hanabi and forced to sit down. "Neji-niisan. Control yourself." She whispered.

_(Another) Current score: _

_Gaara 2_

_Neji 0_

Temari looked up from her meal and observed the rest of the people.

Gaara was drinking his soup and ignored every single one of them. Hinata was looking down awkwardly and Neji look like he was going to rip Gaara's head off if it was not because Hanabi told him to stop. Hiashi Hyuuga was sipping tea and possibly trying to ignore the 'hidden' strife among the youngsters and Hanabi was trying to keep Neji on a leash.

Sighing, she muttered. "It's going to be a long night…"

* * *

Sakura: Hurrah! Chapter Three up and running! Once again, please read and review! No flames please and I would gladly answer any questions which you need me to. The next chapter would be up soon! 


	4. The only one

Sakura: Damn. I'm having second thoughts about making this a Gaara and Hinata fic...(I simply love Neji too much.) Okay…so maybe Neji would win Hinata over. Man…I can't choose!

: The author runs off screaming about how she's unable to choose between Gaara and Neji for Hinata:

* * *

Chapter Four: The only one

"Hey…Kazekage-sama…? Are you sure it's okay with you?" Hinata asked apprehensively.

Gaara nodded in reply and the both of them continued walking in silence.

**Awww. It's so hard to speak to him…** The elder daughter of the Hyuuga main family sighed.

The thing that happened that morning was: Hinata was sent to get some grocery shopping done. This is due to Solei being busy preparing for the upcoming big event, which was a ball that would be hosted by the Hyuuga family in recognition for Hinata's soon-to-be marriage to the Kazekage.

Hinata thought back to when the two of them were practically forced to go shopping for dinner's ingredients together.

* * *

:Flashback (a few hours ago):

"Hinata, can you do a favor for me?" Solei asked while tidying up the dining table. Hinata nodded and replied, "Sure. What is it?"

"Well…you see. I've been rather busy lately. So would it be okay with you if I were to give you the responsibility of shopping for dinner tonight?"

"Sure. That's fine with me." She smiled as she helped Solei clear the remaining dishes.

After she had finished with clearing the tables, Hinata went back to her room to get changed; she put on her usual attire, which comprised of a white jacket top over her t-shirt and shorts. Walking towards the exit, Hinata bumped into someone and almost fell onto the ground.

"Ouch!" she closed her eyes as she felt herself lose her balance.

**Huh? Strange…why didn't I fall onto the ground?**

Opening her eyes, Hinata saw Neji holding onto her. He pulled her hand and set her back properly onto the ground. Smiling, he teased her. "What were you thinking about? You could have injured yourself there."

Hinata blushed. She could not tell him the truth. She was actually thinking about what he would like for dinner.

"I…was thinking about what I should cook for dinner."

Neji's look at her thoughtfully. "You are making dinner tonight?" Hinata nodded.

"Then maybe I should skip it. Who knows what you'll come up with?" He grinned. "Ne…Neji-niisan!" Hinata gave him a sour look. "It's not that bad..."

Neji chuckled. "I know. I was just teasing you. You should know…how cute your reactions are when I do so." He gave Hinata a slight kiss on the cheek, before patting her head. "Do take care of yourself, alright? I have to go for training now."

Hinata smiled. "Okay."

Just as Neji was walking away, Hinata suddenly shouted, "Neji-niisan! What would you like for dinner?" Turning around, he replied, "Anything would be fine, as long as you're the one who cooks it."

Hinata felt the heat rushing up to her face. "Mou…Neji-niisan really likes to tease me."

Still feeling happy about her meeting with Neji, Hinata almost skipped out of the house. Just as she reached the front door, she saw her father speaking to the Kazekage about something. She reached them and bowed to her father, before smiling at the Kazekage.

"There you are, Hinata. I've been looking for you." Her father spoke in his firm and deep sounding voice.

"Yes, father?"

"Why don't you show the Kazekage around town? Since you have nothing better to do now…"

Hinata raised a hand to her lips and looked down thoughtfully. "I would like to…but I have to go for grocery shopping for tonight's dinner…" Hiashi waved his hand and dismissed her thought. "You can go with the Kazekage then. It would still be a walk around town."

"Ha…Hai! (Ye…yes!)" She nodded, a little afraid to defy her father.

"Good. It's settled then."

:Flashback over:

* * *

Hinata stole a glance at the Kazekage who was walking beside her. Even though he had saved her before, she felt that he was really silent and hard to communicate with.

"Hinata…" he suddenly began.

Hinata jumped a little when he called her name. After all, he was silent the whole trip and she was rather sure that he would stay that way throughout the day.

"What's…that?" he pointed at a stall which sold fishes. Hinata glanced in the direction he was pointing in and replied, "Oh, that's a stall which sells fresh fish. We need to go there as well."

Gaara nodded as the both of them walked towards the stall. Hinata looked around and was choosing fishes when Gaara got curious again. "Are they alive?" he asked as he felt the cold bodies of the dead fishes.

"No…they're already dead." Hinata answered as she shook her head.

Gaara simply continued staring at the fish. "It's looking at me."

"Um…That's because fishes can't close their eyes, they have no eyelids."

"Then how do they sleep?"

"They…probably sleep with their eyes open?" Hinata stared at Gaara. Could it be that he had never seen a fish before?

"Or maybe…they can't sleep, like me."

Hinata shook her head and paid for the fishes which she chose. "If a living thing is deprived for sleep too long, it'll probably be dead in a few days from fatigue or maybe be emotionally unstable."

"...So…they are dead yet emotionally unstable?" Gaara looked at her, apparently thinking hard at the moment.

"N…no, I don't mean it that way…" Hinata struggled with her reply.

There was an awkward silence for a while, before Gaara spoke again. "You have really weird things here." Hinata gave an awkward laugh. "Is that so…?"

The two continued walking along when they met a certain yellow-haired boy who was taking a stroll with a pink haired girl.

"Ah! It's Hinata!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards her. When he was a few meters away, he suddenly skidded to a halt and stared at the person beside her.

"OH MY GOD!" he went into a sugar-high kind of mode. "GAARA!"

The Kazekage sighed. "Yes. It's me."

Naruto ran forward once more and spoke in an excited manner. "Man! It's great to see you again!" He slapped Gaara on the back, causing Gaara to cough uncontrollably.

"Ka…Kazekage-sama?!" Hinata stroked his back gently; worried that he would cough his lungs out any moment. "Naruto…(cough)…I swear…that I would kill you…(cough)…if you EVER do that again…(cough cough)"

"Ah…still giving death threats to others...yup. That's Gaara alright." Naruto concluded.

"Of course he is, you moron." Sakura appeared behind him and whacked him on the head. "Who else would he be?"

"Ow!" Naruto looked back at her with his puppy eyes. "But Sakura-chan…How would you know if he isn't some weird person who would disguise himself as Gaara?"

Everybody went stiff from the comment made by Naruto. "Only a moron like you would do that." Sakura replied.

When Gaara felt better, Hinata faced the two and giggled. "You guys haven't changed a bit."

"Yeah…I know…she's still as fierce as-" Naruto was stopped short as Sakura pulled his cheek in anger. "What did you say?!" she glared at him menacingly.

"Ow! Ow ow ow!" Naruto screamed in pain. "I mean…as sweet as ever! AS SWEET AS EVER!" he continued in a half-scream manner, desperate for her to let go. Sakura smiled in a satisfied way and let go of him.

"Anyways, we got to go already. It's getting late. See you guys around next time!" Sakura smiled and started walking away while dragging Naruto along who was rubbing his sore cheeks. "Oh! Please wait!" Hinata called out. She rushed over to their side and handed them invitation cards.

"There is a ball hosted by the Hyuuga family next week. I hope that you two would be able to make it." The two looked down at the red colored invitation cards and nodded.

"Sure. We'll be there."

Hinata nodded and waved at them as the two disappeared into the distance.

"There would be a ball?" Gaara asked as he walked towards Hinata.

"Yes…It's hosted by the Hyuuga family. I'm allowed to invite my friends…so…" She explained it in a simple and innocent manner. Gaara nodded and commented. "Are we done with the shopping?"

Hinata looked into her basket and replied, "Yup. We're done for today."

"I want to watch you cook."

Hinata immediately jerked up. "Huh?"

Gaara looked at her and repeated his words, like it was something simple. "I said that I want to watch you cook." Hinata went all red. "Wh…Why?"

"Because…since I've gotten here, I have never seen you cook at all."

"Oh…I see." Hinata panicked a little. What if Neji knew about it…? He would most probably get angry with the Kazekage again.

"Am I not allowed to?" The red haired boy asked in a half-commanding tone.

HInata shook her head. "N…No."

* * *

In the kitchen, Hinata prepared the dishes carefully as Gaara watched her. For someone who does not cook often, she was quite skilled with the knife. The Kazekage observed his fiancée as she cut through the cabbages and carrots.

**I can feel his gaze burning through the back of my head! It's such a nervous feeling...** Hinata thought as she nervously handled the knife.

"Hinata!" A voice called her name and Neji stepped into the kitchen.

"Neji-nii…Ouch!" Hinata cried out in pain as the knife cut her finger by accident. Gaara's eyes widened and he rushed towards her. Neji did the same as well.

"Hinata! Are you alright?" Neji asked as he held her hand. Gaara saw that he already rushed to her side and then stopped in his tracks. "I'm okay…" Hinata tried to smile but winced when Neji used the water to clean the wound.

"Yeah right…Look at how deep the cut is. You should be more careful you know."

Hinata was about to rebuke him again when suddenly a sharp pain shot up in her head.

"Ah…!" She screamed and held her head as she fell to the ground.

"Hinata!" Both Gaara and Neji called out.

Another wave of pain shot through her mind. It was as if something was screaming to be awoken inside her memories. Her eyes gave a blank look as she totally collapsed.

_Neji...

* * *

_

When Hinata finally woke up, she found herself in a dark place. Looking around, she tried to search for Neji and Gaara.

"Neji-niisan…? Kazekage-sama…?"

_Neji..._ a voice called out softly.

"wh…who's that?" Hinata was terrified, but kept her guard up in case something happened. Within seconds, a bright light flashed across the dark room. Hinata shielded her eyes with her hands and only put them down when she adjusted to the light.

She was inside a dojo. It looked quite like her house's…but something was different.

A girl was lying down on the ground; she was surrounded by a puddle of blood. Hinata gasped and ran over to check on her, but what she saw shocked her.

"That…can't be." Her eyes widened in recognition of the person in front of her.

"That's me."

The girl looked like the older version of Hinata, probably in her early twenties. She had long hair and was lying motionless on the cold wooden floor. Her eyes looked up sadly at the ceiling.

"Hinata…" a guy called out as he walked towards the girl.

"Ne…Neji-niisan…?" The real Hinata asked. "What's…going on?" By now, she was really confused.

The young man walked past Hinata as if he could not see her and lifted the girl up into his arms before looking down at her. Hinata tried to depict the expression on his face, but it was too complex for her to understand.

Was it loneliness, sadness or anger?

He swept the stray hairs which had fallen all over her face to the side. In an unusually calm voice, he spoke, "That last movement, if you had hit Hanabi…You could have won. Why did you hesitate?" The girl coughed once and replied, "She's my sister…if I killed her, that wouldn't make me any different from her…right? Besides, I don't want to see the sad look on my father's face…"

"Do you really think that he'll be happy if you die?" The doppelganger Neji cut her off suddenly.

"At least…it would be less painful…than if my sister had died." She struggled to speak between breaths.

"You're far too kind."

The girl gave a short laugh before flinching in pain. "Hatred…" she coughed once more.

"Hatred…does not end…after you kill someone…" she explained slowly, the pain taking over her body at the same time.

"When you kill someone…others would hate you…and the more you kill…the more people will hate you…If you get killed…your loved ones would hate the people who killed you…"

Neji continued staring at her with emotionless eyes. The real Hinata could not understand why he was so cold towards the girl. Did he actually love her?

"Don't you see…Neji? Hatred…is a never ending…cycle. The only way…you can break away from it…is to stop the hatred. You must stop hating…" The girl coughed once more, but this time blood came out. Hinata could not help but notice the tears flowing down the girl's cheeks, but she was not the only one crying. Hinata had also started to shed tears for the poor girl who was slowly but surely dying.

Neji wiped the girl's tears. "I don't know if I can promise you that. If you die…I'll probably annihilate the whole of the Hyuuga clan." He made it sound so simple.

More tears flowed down the girl's cheeks and she held his hand tightly. "Neji…the war…shouldn't have even started in the first place…You must…stop the others. Stop the rest before…they drown…in their own…power. That is why…you can't afford to be…overwhelmed…by the power and anger…that overtakes all of us…"

"That's why, you challenged Hanabi? Even though you already knew the ending, you still wanted to end all these?" Suddenly, Neji started to shed tears as well. His face was stoic…but the tears kept coming on.

"You're…so foolish." He whispered.

The real Hinata watched as the girl slowly faded away. Neji held onto her till the very end. "Rest…and don't cry anymore." He kissed her forehead as he watched her disappear into an array of lights.

"I really loved you." Her voice rang through the air. It was her last sentence which she had gathered the remaining of her energy to say.

"I know." He replied. When she was completely gone, Hinata noted that Neji seemed to be holding something. It looked like a locket. The object glimmered in the light and Hinata watched as Neji held the object close to him.

"Hinata…" he called out for one last time.

Then he stood up, with a look of emptiness yet determination in his eyes.

"Ah…!" Hinata was overwhelmed by a bright flash of light once more. Was the mirage coming to an end? When the light died down, she was once again back in the darkness. Just as she was trying to find a way out, the girl appeared in front of her.

"You are…" Hinata started, still trying hard to comprehend all that she had seen.

_I am Hinata._ The girl spoke.

"What…what do you want with me?" Hinata asked. She felt quite sure that the girl brought her here for a reason.

_I just wanted to show you...the ending._ The girl smiled, a soft glow emitting from her whole body.

"The ending…?"

_I'm...a past entity. I am who you are in your past life...Hinata. In the past...I chose Neji above all others. You have a choice to make now...am I right?_

Hinata understood what she meant but felt that it was not really a matter of choice for her. "There was no choice from the beginning."

The girl shook her head. _Don't let others tell you what to do. Listen...to your heart and follow what it tells you to. It'll lead you to your answer._

"But I…" before Hinata could ask any further, a door was seen on the other end. The voices of Neji and Gaara could be heard on the other end.

_Go to them. They're waiting for you. _With a final smile, the girl vanished.

Hinata walked to the golden doors and opened them.

* * *

"Hinata! Wake up!" Neji yelled as he shook her. Gaara beside her as well and he held her hand.

"Ah….my head hurts…" Hinata slowly opened her eyes and stared at the two frantic people. "Neji-niisan? Kazekage-sama? What is going on…?"

Neji looked like he was going to die. Gaara simply breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "You blacked out all of the sudden. We've been trying to wake you up for a couple of minutes already."

"It's been only a few minutes?" Hinata asked.

"Well…yeah. How long do you want to be unconscious? I think Neji probably lost about half of the years in his life now." Gaara frowned, apparently irritated but still quite happy that Hinata was safe.

"God…Hinata. Stop scaring me like that." Neji sighed.

"It wasn't my fault…she was the one who called out to me."

Both of the guys looked at each other before asking Hinata. "Who was calling to you?"

"It was a girl who looked like me. She said that she was my past life or something…and she mentioned about choosing…between something." Hinata lied as she felt that it would not be nice to tell the both of them that she had to choose between them.

"I think you might have knocked your head when you fell." Gaara stated in a mean tone.

"Hey!" Hinata sat up quickly and frowned at him.

To her surprise, Gaara smiled. It's was the first time she had seen him smiling in a genuine way. **It's so…warm.** Hinata thought to herself.

"You should forget about cooking tonight." Neji commanded as he carried her up and out of the kitchen.

"But…Neji-niisan!" Hinata complained and tried to struggle out of his arms. It was a futile attempt, considering that Neji was much stronger than her.

"I'll finish it up for you. Since there's only a little left to be done." He replied.

Hinata became quiet all of the sudden. Then she spoke, "Ne…Neji-niisan…? Are you sure that you can cook…?"

Neji blinked. "Um…Not really…but I'll try my best."

The three of them stood in the corridor silently when Gaara calmly stated.

"That's it. I'm not taking dinner tonight."

* * *

Sakura: Chapter four up! Guys, you all have to help me! I can't decide on who should win Hinata over! So…please read and review, and at the same time, express your opinions as to who you want to win Hinata over in the end. So far, Neji has got my winning vote...but we'll see in the end…I suppose. Also, no flames please! Next chapter would be up soon! 


	5. Our love is like the snow

Chapter Five: Our love is like the snow

The slamming sounds came from the dojo in the Hyuuga family's residence. A young boy was practicing by himself. Apparently, there was something bothering him and the only way he could get the troubles off his mind was to keep him busy with intensive training.

_Father! Why...father? Don't go!_

After exhausting most of his energy, he knelt down and stared at the floor. He was panting and still trying to keep himself busy, but the memories kept flooding back. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he punched the ground angrily.

"Damn!" He yelled.

The vision of his father leaving to be a sacrifice for the village replayed itself over and over in his mind. His father's death was the main reason for his past hatred for the main branch family. In fact, he had once attempted to kill Hinata, who was from the main branch.

_I didn't do it for the main branch. I did it for my family. It was to protect my brother._

"It was a lie." A cold voice managed to sound from his lips. Although he had already known the truth since the final rounds of the Chuunin Exams, it still hurt him to watch his father go. The look which Hizashi Hyuuga gave him…The way he left him on his own.

_Neji, you must live. You are the one that is graced the most by the talent of the Hyuuga Clan._

"I'm sick of this." He muttered as he fell to the ground. He felt like staying down on the ground forever and not getting up.

"Ne…Neji-niisan." A soft voice called out from behind him. Hinata appeared at the door. Her eyes seemed to be filled with pity for him.

"Oh, it's you…Hinata." He answered as he looked up at her.

Putting down the tray of snacks she brought, she walked over to him and bent down. "Are you…hurting?" She asked and a look of concern came over her face. Giving a bitter laugh, Neji shook his head. "It's only practice...I won't be able to injure myself too much." He sat up and smiled at Hinata. Looking apprehensive, she moved forward to place her right hand on the place where his heart is. "Does it hurt here…?" She asked once more.

"Hi…Hinata…?" His eyes widened. She was always so concerned about others.

"Tell me. Does it hurt…? Are you in pain?" She asked stubbornly once again. "I'm fine." Neji responded. He took her right hand off his chest and held it. "Don't worry too much."

A slight frown came over her face as Hinata knew that her cousin was lying. Neji noticed that she was still concerned and decided to change the topic. "Hinata…do you want to see the sunset today?"

Surprised, Hinata looked up and accidentally knocked right into Neji's chin.

"Ow!" He barely yelled, hoping that his jaw was not dislocated.

"Ah! Ne…Neji-niisan! I'm sorry!" Hinata panicked and checked if he was okay. While she was apologizing non-stop to him, Neji simply sat down there, staring at her. After a while, Hinata noticed and looked right back at him. "Is something-" Before she could finish, Neji had forced a kiss onto her.

"Hinata…" he spoke after breaking off from their kiss. "Are you really going to marry Gaara?" A sad look came across Hinata's face. "I…have no choice."

It was then; Neji became so desperate that he had an extremely crazy idea. "Hinata...let's leave this place. Just the two of us…" Hinata gave him a shocked expression. "Yo…You mean…elope?"

Neji nodded and waited for her response.

"We…We can't!" She exclaimed and struggled out of his grasp. "Neji-niisan…This is our home! We can't abandon it…we just can't! Besides, if we're caught…god knows what would happen to us!"

With a firm look in his eyes, Neji replied. "I'm willing to risk everything for you."

Hinata was still very apprehensive and refused to hear any more of the topic. "Enough…please." Neji got a little agitated and raised his voice a little. "Then would you rather you marry Gaara? Hinata…you know I can't stand you being with another guy." It was very true. If Neji had the option to choose, he would probably lock her away from the world. He would refuse to let anybody see or touch her. It was because he had loved her so much…that he only wanted her for himself.

"That's…not what I meant. I just don't think that we should leave just like that." She barely whispered, apparently quite afraid of this sudden outburst from Neji. Hinata dare not look him in the eye as well, since Neji always had this piercing look when he is angry.

Neji did not say anything and simply stood up. He walked towards the door and before he left, he said in a very sad tone, "Hinata, why can't you stop hurting me?" He did not even turn around to look at her and simply walked out into the light.

"Neji…" she tried to call out his name for the first time, but he had already left and Hinata felt the tears flowing down her cheeks. What was she so afraid of? Neji already said that he would risk everything for her. If they left the clan…then they would be able to be together forever. She sat down there, thinking about what she was supposed to do.

Unknown to her, a certain sand ninja was standing outside the dojo door. He had arrived only long enough to hear the two's conversation about eloping. He tried to keep his face emotionless, but it was too hard this time. The boy could hear Hinata crying inside. He wanted to go over and comfort her, but thought that he should stay outside. If he were to go in…Hinata would most probably start to rely on him.

"It's Neji she loves." He muttered. It was none of his business anyway. He was forced to marry Hinata; it was not his choice. Yet somehow, he felt this tinge of pain in his heart. Unable to stand being near Hinata anymore, he started walking away.

Then it started snowing. The snow fell softly, and starting to make layers on the ground. The red haired boy stared at the strange sight. So did Hinata, who was in dojo. In the living room, Neji also watched the snow as it fell down silently.

The snow…was like their love for each other. It comes and it goes. Most of the time it is cold, but sometimes it is regarded as romantic. Their love was pure, just like the snow.

Hinata suddenly started singing in a soft but sad tune. It felt like a song which she had known since a long time ago.

_Since a long time ago...I've been waiting..._

_Waiting for you to return to me..._

_The pain of staring out of the glass window..._

_Simply searching for your dark figure...walking towards me._

_Oh wind...would you please send a message for me?_

_Tell him...I'm still waiting after so long._

_When is he coming back? Coming back into my arms...?_

_The dream that lasted for a thousand years..._

_Longing softly for your touch..._

_Ignoring the pain which tears me apart...When are you going to return?_

_I need to tell you how much I loved you..._

_Before my heart becomes frozen from the cold._

_Since a long time ago...I've been dreaming of you..._

_I saw the way you fought for me..._

_I cried for you to stop...But then again, I guess you couldn't hear me..._

_You're not supposed to be alone._

_Oh wind...would you please send a message for me?_

_Tell him...I'm still waiting after so long._

_When is he coming back? Coming back into my arms...?_

_The dream that lasted for a thousand years..._

_Longing softly for your love..._

_I want to wake up in the morning and see you..._

_Then I'll tell you how much I loved you._

_My love...why don't you return...?_

_My heart is already starting to freeze..._

_Just like the snow._

Gaara heard her singing. It was very beautiful; just like an angel's singing. However, there was a very sad tune behind her song. He looked over to the living room. Neji seemed to have heard her song as well. A pained look was written all over his face.

"The dream…that lasted for a thousand years…" Gaara repeated to himself.

"_Here we go again...you're always letting go of my hand easily...in order to run back into his arms."_

"What…?" He blinked. He could have sworn that he heard a voice speaking in his mind. The scenery started to change, and he was in a room with two other people inside. The girl was singing the same song as Hinata. When she turned around, Gaara saw that it WAS Hinata. Yet this Hinata looked older, probably in her early twenties.

A boy approached her. "Hinata…don't worry. Neji would be back soon." She gazed at the boy with sad and tired looking eyes. "It's you…Gaara."

The real Gaara walked forward to look at the boy, and she was right. It was the older version of him. There was long thin line of red hair behind the guy; except that, nothing had really changed about him.

"He's been out for a few days already…I can't help but worry…" Hinata replied.

"At least, take some food please…You have been rejecting food since he was found to be missing." The older Gaara pleaded. "But…" Hinata began to refuse once more, but Gaara put a finger to her lips. "No buts. I'll feed you if that's what it takes." Hinata broke into a slight giggle.

"Wh…What's wrong?" He asked, embarrassed that she was laughing at him.

Hinata shook her head. "It's…nothing really. But the thought that you're going to feed me is quite…cute." Then she continued giggling non-stop.

"Hmph." He replied, trying hard to keep whatever pride he had left.

He dipped the spoon into the porridge and blew it so that it would not be too hot. Just as he was about to feed Hinata the first mouth, a yellow haired boy burst through the door.

"Hinata! Hinata!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"What is it? Naruto-kun…?"

"It's Neji! He's back!" Naruto yelled happily. Hinata's eyes widened and she quickly rushed out of the door into the main courtyard to meet him. Gaara simply sat there, a look of sadness on his face.

"Here we go again…you're always letting go of my hand easily…in order to run back into his arms." He muttered as he put down the porridge. He looked outside onto the courtyard. Hinata was hugging a tattered looking Neji and was crying. Naruto seemed to be yelling at him and Neji was apologizing to the both of them.

The real Gaara watched as the older version of him walked away from the window and out of the door. It was then he noticed something important.

It was snowing outside.

Then the scenery started to change once more and Gaara opened his eyes to find himself inside the living room. Hinata was putting a towel on his forehead. Noticing that he was awake, she smiled. "Kazekage-sama…You're finally awake."

"Hinata…?" He asked apprehensively. "What happened?"

Hinata explained to him that he had fainted outside the dojo and was running a high fever. "I suppose that since you're from the Sand Village, you're not accustomed to low temperatures…and that probably caused you to catch a cold."

"Oh."

Hinata was about to change the towel once more when she saw that Gaara was crying silently. "Ka…Kazekage-sama…?" Gaara used his right hand to cover his face and replied, "It's okay. I'll be fine soon…I promise."

"But…what made you so upset…?" Hinata asked innocently. She had never seen Gaara cry before and was sure that it was something really bad to make him shed tears.

"It's nothing. I just saw something really sad."

"Oh…I see. Do take care of yourself then. If you need to talk to anybody, I'll be right here." Hinata held his hand gently and smiled.

The Kazekage looked at her and gave a half-relieved look. "Thank you…Hinata."

Then he closed his eyes.

* * *

Sakura: Short chapter. Sorry everybody! It was because I was having writer's block and couldn't think of a good chapter. Hope you guys like this chapter and if you desire, you could read it while listening to Mika Nakashima's song, Yuki No Hana. I was listening to it while writing…and honestly it gave me a lot of inspiration. Please read and review! And now it seems like Gaara is getting more votes than Neji! Please tell me who you would want to win Hinata over in the end! If you have already voted, then there's no need to do it twice. Haha… I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I have the inspiration…I promise! 


	6. Timeless regrets and love

Sakura: Sorry about not updating…been really stuck recently. I have also realized that my story lacks a good plot. So now that I've thought about it, I'm going to write like crazy. But man…this thing is harder than it seems.

P.S: I've just realized that Neji seems nice to Hinata again. (Even after their little 'fall-out' in the previous chapter…) Well…Just take it that both of them made up and are on a 'not-angry-but-not-as-close-as-before' kind of relationship now.

* * *

Chapter Six: Timeless regrets and love

"Good morning, Neji-niisan! Kazekage-sama!" Hinata called out happily as she came down the stairs. Gaara nodded in recognition as he sat on the chair and Neji replied, "Morning, Hinata."

Just as Hinata sat down and nibbled on her breakfast, Neji and Gaara were having some kind of weird dispute.

"Hey Gaara…Pass the toast." Neji commanded the Kazekage.

"Since when are we on good speaking terms…?" Gaara practically slapped the toast onto his face, but Neji was too fast. Grabbing the toast, he replied, "It's only about breakfast. Don't get so worked up about it."

Hinata giggled at the sight of them. "The both of you look so close."

Gaara looked away from Neji, as if he could not be bothered. Neji simply ignored him as well.

"Anyways…Hinata…How are you going to spend your time today?" Neji asked her.

"Um…I'm heading over to Shino-kun's place later. Naruto-kun told me to go over all the sudden." Hinata could not figure out why Naruto asked her to go over and was a little curious. Neji nodded and motioned towards Gaara, "Naruto asked the both of us to go as well…Why don't you go there first, Hinata? We'll catch up with you later."

"Hey…what's going-" Gaara started, but before he could ask, Neji clamped his hand over Gaara's mouth. "Hinata…you should be going now." He smiled as he struggled to keep Gaara still.

"O…Okay…Neji-niisan…" She replied and went out of the door.

After making sure that she's out of sight, Neji finally released Gaara. When he regained his ability of speech, Gaara cursed at Neji. "What the hell did you think you were doing…? I would have bitten your hand off if you hadn't let go by now."

"Shush! I was simply trying to keep the surprise from Hinata." Neji's eyes narrowed irritation towards Gaara.

"Surprise…?"

"Yeah, it's her birthday today."

Gaara was quite taken aback at the fact that he did not know the exact date of Hinata's birthday. "So we're going over to this…Shino-guy's house?"

Neji nodded. "I think we already gave her quite a head start. Let's go then." The two stood up and went out of the door as well.

* * *

"Hinata" Naruto jumped up happily and pulled her into the house. Hinata was quite shocked but complied and followed him. The inside of the house was pitch-black and Hinata struggled to find her way behind Naruto.

"Na…Naruto-kun…I…can't see…anything at all." Hinata whined softly.

"Don't worry, Hinata…Just a little further." Naruto assured her and continued to pull her through the rooms. Hinata caught a glimpse of light at the far end, where the both of them were headed. When they entered the light, a surprise was awaiting for her.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HINATA!!!!!!!!" Everyone practically screamed. Normally, Hinata would be blown away by the sheer force of their sound, but managed to stay in place today because of Naruto who was holding onto her. Hinata blinked and looked around the room, all her friends were there and everyone was smiling happily.

**It's like a dream.** The expression on her face turned from shock to happiness. "Thank you…everybody."

Just then, Neji and Gaara entered the door. Neji was smiling softly and holding up a box which seemed to be the cake. Handing her the box, he said, "Happy birthday, Hinata." Tears of happiness flowed down Hinata's cheeks. It was certainly an unexpected situation for her.

"Hey…there's no need to cry right?" Naruto panicked as he dived towards a nearby table for tissues. Hinata wiped her tears and smiled. "I'm just really happy…"

The party went on into the night, with everybody on an all-time high. They cut Hinata's cake first before proceeding to drinking some mild alcohol drinks. It was an idea of Kiba's who actually just wanted to get high. After finishing her cake, Hinata looked around for Gaara. Her search led her to the backyard, where Gaara was sitting quietly on the swing.

"Kazekage-sama…" She called out, after hesitating for a moment.

Gaara looked at her; his eyes were clouded over by an unexplainable expression. Hinata walked over cautiously as she felt that if she were to drop her guard, something dangerous might happen. Gaara ignored her and continue to stare blankly into space. Hinata sat beside him and pull her legs up towards her chest. The two of them gazed at the starry night sky together. Hinata took occasional glances at Gaara, but other than that she never really spoke to him.

Then there was a moment of pause. Gaara looked down apprehensively onto the ground, before turning his attention to Hinata. "Hinata…"

The girl looked at him with her pearl-like eyes and tilted her head to one side. "Yes…? Kazekage-sama?"

"Do you...I mean…are you…" Gaara fumbled around his sentence, unaware of how he should put it to her.

Hinata gave an encouraging smile. "It's okay. You can speak your mind."

Another pause was noted and Gaara decided to finally ask her. "Are you…in love with Neji?"

At that moment, Hinata's face turned completely red and she stammered. "Ye…Yes, bu...but…why…do you…ask such a…question?"

Gaara felt an unexplainable feeling stirring inside of him. Was it sadness? Had disappointment and jealously reared their ugly heads? Before he could reply, Hinata continued her sentence. She was breaking from the inside when she spoke, but she kept a strong front.

"Please don't worry…I would try to forget about him…when we're married. I know that it's not nice of me…to be thinking of another person when I'm with my husband…"

Gaara frowned in irritation. "I don't need your pity."

"No…no!" Hinata raised her voice slightly. Stunned, Gaara looked at her once more. She was rather close to tears.

"It's…just that…" She really wanted to cry, but she refused to show weakness in front of the Kazekage. "When we get married...Neji would have to marry my sister, Hanabi…as well."

"So that's why you're giving up on him?"

"That's not all…" She gazed up at the stars once again, hoping that her tears would stay in. "Since young, I've always…admired Neji. He's so blessed with the talent of the Hyuuga family...while I wasn't. I tried to be stronger, I tried to be useful. However, I couldn't make a difference in the end."

Hinata took a deep breath and continued. "I've always liked him…but because of his hatred towards the main branch, we had to stand on opposite sides of each other. During that time, I felt so lost. I kept asking myself…was I really nothing but a spoilt girl from the main branch?"

"Then Naruto-kun came along." She felt like pouring her whole heart out and let Gaara know almost everything. The burden was getting too heavy to bear. "He showed me that…no matter how desperate my situation may be, as long as I try hard…maybe I would be able to achieve something…"

"Since then, I've changed. I wanted more courage…and most importantly, I remembered how it felt like…to actually mean something to somebody."

Gaara's eyes widened as tears started to fall from Hinata's eyes, but she kept her gaze towards the stars.

"I promised myself…that I wouldn't cry when Neji marries Hanabi…" She was almost choking, her breaths were getting shorter. "So that's why…no matter what, I must give up on him. It's because…there's no use trying to save a relationship that was doomed from the beginning."

"We were never meant to be together." She finished.

Gaara felt the desperation that seemed to glow all around Hinata. He frowned a little, as if in thought. "You said that you've changed right? Then why don't you try to get him back?"

Hinata seemed as though she was thinking hard for a second, but later shook her head and replied, "I…can't. I just can't!"

Gaara got off the swing and bent down in front of her. He cupped her left cheek with his right hand. Looking hard into her eyes, he spoke, "What do you mean you can't? Would you rather stay this way for all your life?" Hinata tried to struggle and look away but Gaara held her gaze tightly towards him. "You…you don't understand at all…" Gaara's face was emotionless. "Of course I don't. Neither do I have the intent of doing so. However from my point of view, it really seems that the weak one is you."

"But…I tried…I really did." Hinata tried to loosen Gaara's grip on her. He was holding her too tightly. "Please…let go…Kazekage-sama…" She whimpered.

"I don't want you to take pity on me." He commanded, with a stern look in his eyes. Hinata was taken aback and stopped struggling. "I don't want you to be unhappy because you married someone you don't care enough for."

"But I…" Hinata was about to tell him that she did care about him when she was interrupted.

"You don't care enough. I hate being in the second place."

There was silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the crickets in the background. Hinata just sat there, staring at Gaara. After a while, he let go and started to walk away.

"Kazekage…sama." Hinata uttered under her breath.

The house was quiet now, since everybody had fallen asleep due to the alcoholic drinks they had. Hinata wandered into the room and bent down in front a sleeping Neji. He reminded her of so many events which has been happening to her since she was born. If Hinata were to say who she liked between Gaara and Neji, she would say it's Neji.

**Even if I have to hesitate…to choose between them…**

Gaara had disappeared. Would Neji leave her as well? Just because of their destiny… Would he abandon her as well? She watched as he breathed slowly as he slept. His face was serene and Hinata did not want to be cruel and wake him up. She stood and turned away from her friends. Hinata felt that she really needed a walk now.

* * *

The village was very quiet late at night, with the exception of a few night stalls to satisfy hungry customers. Hinata walked along the cold, dark alleyways and towards the place where the stone with the names of the deceased war heroes were.

The leaves rustled gently in the wind. She could see the stone from afar. A sad aura was around it. Hinata walked over and felt the cold marble stone. She knew that somehow, there were members of the Hyuuga clan engraved onto the stone as well.

She gave a sigh. War takes everything away from people. If she was correct about the string of memories she had seen recently, the war was the thing that took Neji away from her in their past life. She ran her hand through her black silky hair.

"The pain of humans…is often the saddest emotion to be found on Earth." She muttered. Just then, a shadow appeared in the moonlight. The person was standing behind her in the darkness.

Alerted, Hinata spun around and focused her eyes on the target. "Who…Who's that?" She called out. If it was a battle the person wanted, it was a battle he or she would get. A pair of eyes appeared in the shadows. The pupil was blood red and by the figure of the person, it should be a guy. Hinata hesitated. She could feel the intensity of the glare and the hatred that the person emitted, but she could not sense a lust for killing.

Who was it?

"Wait…" She blinked and tried to recall where she had seen such eyes before. "One ring…two rings…three rings…and blood red." The answer flooded to her like it was yesterday that she could recognize such eyes.

"No way..." Her body started to quake with fear. If it was what she had assumed, then she would be in serious trouble.

"It's the Sharingan."

The shadow smirked. Hinata took a step back and prayed hard that the enemy did not have evil intents. The Sharingan was a special trait of the Uchiha family and the only two remaining survivors were Uchiha Sasuke and Itachi. If it was Itachi, she could really die. Maybe he was after her Byaakugan or something… As for Sasuke, he might harm her as he had left two years ago to join Orochimaru.

The figure stepped out slowly into the light.

Short spiky raven hair was seen and the robes of those who belong to Orochimaru. Nothing much really changed about him, so Hinata was sure. After all, she had seen him in the Chuunin exams before.

It was Sasuke.

He walked towards her and tilted his head. Frowning, he deactivated his sharingan. "It's only you. I was hoping it was someone more worthy to kill." Hinata shivered. Apparently the hatred had not disappeared from his heart and now it was drowning him instead.

"U…Uchiha…Sasuke-kun…" Hinata tried to look confident in front of him, but inside she was crumbling.

Sasuke gave her a thoughtful look. "You're...Naruto's friend, right?" Hinata nodded. She was not about to lie, even in the face of death. The raven haired boy approached her and then stopped once more about two meters away from her. Looking at the village, he asked her in barely a whisper.

"How are they…?"

Hinata stood silently, a little surprised that Sasuke still cared for his friends. "They're…okay. Sakura-san is much better now…"

She thought that Sasuke would at least breathe a sigh of relief or something. To her horror, he laughed coldly. "That's good to hear. I don't want them to complain on being miserable when I kill them…especially Sakura." A sad look came over Hinata's face. "Uchiha-kun…" She started. Sasuke stared at her once more with his emotionless eyes.

"Why are you so sad?" Her eyes pleaded with him to let go of his hatred. Sudden images flashed in her mind. It was those of people dying. Her friends…her loved ones...

_I weep at the sight of the battlefield. Hatred brings no end._ A voice spoke once more. Hinata could feel the emotion welling up inside of her. Those were the emotions left hanging in the spaces of time since her previous life.

The Uchiha disappeared and then appeared behind her. Hinata dared not move as he spoke quietly into her ear. "What makes you think that I'm sad?"

"I…because…" She stammered. The blade of Sasuke's sword was resting itself on her neck, apparently enjoying the taste of her pale skin. Sasuke had already activated his Sharingan and waiting for her answer. It would seem that she had hit a sensitive spot in his emotions.

"Because…nobody would enjoy watching their friends die."

"You think so?" He pushed the blade further in, causing it to cut into her skin and blood went dripping down.

"I don't think so…" She ventured courageously while wincing from the pain. "I know so."

Sasuke got a little pissed and he gritted his teeth. He pulled back the blade and threw it to the ground. Grabbing Hinata's shoulders, he forcefully turned her around to face him and raised his voice. "How the hell would you know? You're just a PATHETIC and spoilt little girl from a well-known family! You wouldn't know about how it feels when your family gets killed in front of you by someone you trusted! Someone you actually _admired_ and _loved_!"

Hinata watched him, but this time not with a look of fear in her eyes. It was the look of pity. He was a soul who was lost in a darkness of his own.

"You're just venting your anger on me. Your hatred…the regrets you had about being helpless when they died." Hinata felt anger rising inside of her as well. Sasuke became frustrated about talking with her and let go, before starting to walk away. As if on impulse, Hinata rushed forward to grab him.

"Look at me!" She yelled between tears. Somehow, she had already gone over her limit. "I'm like your mirror. I saw how my friends and loved ones died, right in front of me and I couldn't save them! Do you know how that feels?!"

Sasuke stared at the girl in front of him. It was strange, but she did not feel like Hinata. It was another person had taken over. There was a strange aura surrounding her. Sasuke touched her face softly and frowned.

"Who are you?"

"I…I am…" Hinata blinked for a moment and it seemed as though she had short circuited. Falling to the ground, she was caught by Sasuke. The raven haired boy held her in his arms and muttered, "Mirror…huh."

He left her by the tree and performed a barrier jutsu that would be broken when dawn came. Something in him felt different. It was as if Hinata's words lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders. He felt bad about hurting her and bandaged her neck before leaving.

"I don't know who you are." He spoke with his back facing the unconscious Hinata.

"But someday, I'll kill my brother. Then Orochimaru would take over my body and destroy Konoha." A sigh was heard and he ran his fingers over his raven hair.

"I hope that…you wouldn't do the same mistake as I did. You must stop him. We can't afford to be weak and helpless anymore."

Then he left in a swirl of smoke.

* * *

"Hinata! Oh my god…Please be okay…Hinata!" A female voice sounded and she felt a pair of hands shaking her violently. Hinata opened her pearl-like eyes slowly.

"Ino-san…" She muttered. The blond haired girl was freaking out in front of her.

"Are you okay?! What in the world happened?" Ino shot questions at her faster than a machine gun could fire. Before Hinata could reply, Ino continued. "Don't worry, I've contacted the others…they should be here soon."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Not long after, she could see a couple more people rushing forwards to her. Among them, were a red haired boy and a boy who had the same eyes as her.

"Hinata!" They both called out and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" Neji asked worriedly. Gaara touched her bandaged neck softly.

"Who did this to you?" A stern voice escaped his lips.

There was no response. She simply sat there, apparently still in shock.

"All of us have been looking for you since this morning when we woke up. Gaara said that you disappeared and…" Naruto stopped, sensing a weird feeling from Hinata.

She was crying and her whole body was trembling. The shock of meeting an Uchiha…the pain of recalling the deaths of her friends… Everything was too sudden for her to understand.

"Hinata…" Gaara spoke softly as he stroked her hair. "It's okay now…"

Out of the blue, she moved forwards and held onto him tightly. Gaara's eyes widened as she hugged him even tighter. "Oh god…I was so scared…" She spoke between tears. Everyone was silent. Somehow, they were probably waiting to see how Gaara was going to react. A stunned Neji simply sat down there, watching as the one he loved hugged another guy instead of him.

At first he hesitated, but in the end Gaara slowly lifted his arms and held her close as well. He could feel her body trembling against him. Whatever that had happened to her must have been really terrifying.

"Don't cry. Everything would be fine now. We're all here…"

It was that moment when they all thought that they had been imagining things, because Hinata whispered…

"_Gaara..._"

It was the first time she called out his name.

* * *

After that scene, everybody went back to their homes and Hinata was also put into her room to rest. Neji had disappeared somehow and Gaara was the one who brought her home. He laid her down onto the bed and the covered the blanket over her.

Soon after, he exited the room and closed the door. Looking up at the sky, Gaara wondered about Hinata's bandaged neck. Footsteps were heard and Temari appeared to discuss something important with him.

"Gaara…This-" She stopped, noticing that his face was red from…blushing?

Gaara turned and frowned at her. "What is it?"

"You're…all red."

"Must you always disturb me when I'm thinking?" Gaara retorted, hoping that she did not catch him blushing for too long.

Temari gave him an offended look and spoke while waving a letter around threateningly. "Well, SORRY…Mr 'I-am-always-deep-in-thought'! This thing is important okay? It's from the Sand village."

Gaara folded his arms and asked, "What do they want?"

Temari shrugged and casually opened the letter. After reading it, she looked up and replied sarcastically. "Oh…it's nothing much. It's just that…they want us to return immediately and settle some administrative matters."

Gaara sighed and shook his head. "A bunch of useless morons."

"Well…it's not hard to figure why you're the Kazekage now…right?" Temari giggled.

"……"

"So? What are your plans, 'Oh-great-mighty-silent-one'?"

"We'll go back…and settle the stuff."

Temari pointed towards Hinata's room door. "What about your wife?"

Gaara went a little red once more. "She's not my wife."

"Well…she WOULD be in a few month's time."

Gaara gave a thoughtful look. "I think…that I'm going to annul our marriage."

"What?!" Temari slapped her forehead. "Why in the world would you do such a stupid thing?"

"Because she already likes someone else."

The yellow haired sister of the Kazekage sighed and stated a fact. "Look. You're _the_ Kazekage. You can have whoever you want and when you want them. It comes with the whole authority thing. Also, how do you think Konoha and the Hyuuga family would react when you tell them about this? They would be offended."

There was silence between the two of them.

"Temari…?" Gaara broke the silence.

"Yes?" She looked at him and hoped that he had seen things her way.

"Please just shut up. My head hurts."

"Argh!" She finally gave up talking to him and stormed away. Gaara stood down there rubbing his temple and frowning.

"……"

A sigh was heard and he muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't have taken that glass of wine last night."

* * *

Sakura: Oh my freakin god. It's finally done. IT'S FINALLY DONE. I've been through hell just to write a better chapter…It isn't exactly good though, but it's okay so far. I would be going overseas soon and the next chapter would probably be up about two weeks later. Sorry about that!

And finally, please read and review! I love all your reviews…it is very precious to me. Haha… Also, No flames please!

Next chapter: Gaara returns to his hometown! How would Hinata deal with it and would her father freak out when he hears that Gaara is going to cancel the political-made marriage? Also, WHERE IN THE WORLD DID NEJI GO?!


	7. An annulled marriage

Sakura: Due to…a somehow overwhelming response to my previous chapters, I've decide to revive this story a bit and write a new chapter for you all

Please, enjoy.

Warning: This chapter has not been grammatically proof-read. So please forgive me…

* * *

Chapter Seven: An annulled marriage

Hinata tossed and turned in her sleep. A certain fear struck her once again as she frowned.

_No...! Why...why must it be this way? Why must all of them die?_

A tear slipped down her cheek. She uttered a small yelp and sat up on her bed. "W…What…?" She felt her face and blushed, apparently embarrassed. "Those images…they were so real." She breathed heavily, as if she was out of breath. Slowly, she pushed herself out of bed and walked to bathroom to wash up.

When she was done, she went to the living room where she found Neji and her father sitting together. "O…Otousan?" She asked apprehensively. What in the world was her father doing over at this side of the house, early in the morning? Hiashi gave her a nod and signaled for her to sit down.

Gracefully, she kneeled down beside of Neji and stared at her father. "Is there…anything that you would like to speak to me about?" Hiashi gave a loud sigh. "Hinata…I know that this might hurt you, but the Kazekage…"

_The Kazekage...?_ She blinked.

"He has announced his decision to annul the marriage between the two of you."

Hinata gasped. Why was the Kazekage doing such a thing?

_You don't care enough. I hate being in the second place._

Remembering his words, she was quite stunned. Was that why he wanted to annul the marriage? "Otousan…Did the Kazekage mentioned why?" She whispered. Her father simply shook his head. "He didn't." Hinata gave a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry. It must have been a disgrace to our family."

"Hinata, you don't need to push yourself so hard."

Her eyes widened as she saw her father smile. It had been long since he ever displayed such emotions. He stood up slowly and patted her head. "As you know, you are my daughter. As long as you're happy, I should have never…" He broke off and gazed at the sky. "The Kazekage is right. It is the time to do the right thing."

Hiashi held Hinata's hand and placed into Neji's with the obvious conclusion that they were both shocked. "Hinata…Neji…" He smiled once again at the both of them. "You can be together if you wanted to."

Hinata turned to look at Neji. He had the same expression as she had on her face. "Hiashi-sama. Are…you sure?" He asked. It was obvious that Neji was afraid that this was a dream as well. "Yes." Hiashi replied. "Then…what about Hanabi?" It was Hinata's turn to ask.

"Neji need not marry her if he doesn't want to as well."

If it were told to them before Hinata got to know the Kazekage, maybe she would have felt relieved and happy. Yet…there was a sad feeling inside of her. This was why Gaara left her? Because he felt that she would be happy with Neji? Something's changed. She could feel it. Neji gazed at her with his pearl-colored eyes. He held her hand and stood up. Hinata followed suit. "Hiashi-sama…would you excuse us for a moment?"

Hiashi nodded and watched as Neji led her quietly out of the house. When Neji was sure that Hiashi was not looking anymore, he let go of Hinata and whispered. "Hinata-sama." Hinata blinked. So it was back to formalities for them?

He turned around and gave her a sad smile. "Go after him…if you want to."

"Ne…Neji?"

"I know you like the Kazekage. You have to go after what you want. It won't just fall into your hands by simply standing here."

So Neji knew. He understood that Hinata felt a change of heart inside of her. Still…some part of her liked Neji. After all, they've been together for so long. Since young, he was always there for her. He always protected her. Maybe, he even loved her for as long as he could remember.

Hinata did not know what to answer him.

Neji took a step forward and hugged her. "If it was my choice, I wouldn't want to give you to him." Hinata wanted to struggle, but she somehow felt powerless. Then she felt something wet on her shoulders. She tried to check what it was, but Neji's grip tightened.

"Don't look at me." He whispered.

"Ne…Neji…what is going on?"

If Hinata could turn around then…she would have noticed the tears of pain Neji was shedding. He bit his lip and simply held her in his arms. Something told him that if he let go, she would disappear. Yet…

After what seemed like an eternity, Neji slowly let go of her. He had wiped away his tears and gazed at her softly. "I'm not going to be selfish." He gave a short chuckle, which died away fast. Then he turned away from her.

"Go."

Hinata stood down there, thinking about what she had to do. She knew he was hurting. It was time to release him from his pain.

"I had…" She started, hoping that Neji was listening. "I had once loved you so dearly…Neji-niisan…"

It was true. She had developed feelings for the Kazekage, but nothing has changed for her feelings towards Neji.

"And I still do."

Then she turned around as well and started to run. They were over.

Silence befell Neji as he finally turned around to watch her figure disappear in the distance. A girl appeared beside him. "Neji…you should have stopped her. Look at you now."

He took a deep breath. "No. It was the right thing to do."

"You could cry on my shoulders if you wanted to." She offered sincerely.

"I'm not going to cry."

"You just did."

"Stop it. You're just making me feel worse." Neji turned to face her and frowned. "Don't you have training with Lee or something, Tenten?"

"Yeah, I do. But that idiot's missing somewhere. He must have gone on another of his 'springtime of youth' trips. I just hope that he isn't in a drain somewhere…"

The Hyuuga prodigy shook his head. "I wonder what I've done to deserve this."

"Deserve what? Being deserted by Hinata or having an idiot as a friend?" Tenten swung a shuriken around expertly, before launching it at a falling leaf from a nearby tree. The shuriken sliced the green leaf neatly into half and struck the tree.

"Both." It was the first time Tenten heard something that sounded like a groan coming from Neji. The brown haired girl chuckled before walking forward and slapping Neji's back. "Cheer up! She'll be back soon."

Neji assumed his usual position; he folded his arms across his chest and frowned. "How in the world would you know?"

The girl smiled mysteriously. "I'm a girl like her after all. I understand how her heart works. Neji…feelings like that," she paused for a second. "They don't disappear very easily. Besides, she didn't scream 'I hate you!' or 'Crap, I'm dumping you for Gaara.' When the both of you spoke just now right?"

"Hinata-sama won't say that."

"I'm just giving an example!"

"It's not a good example."

"Stop being such a 'stiffy'!"

"What in the world is a 'stiffy'..."

"It's a word to describe 'woody' people like you who won't relax and paste a frown on their face the whole day! Not to mention the whole, 'I'm an emotional kid' thing that you always have on!"

"Wha…That's not true."

"Yes, it's true. Last time you were going, 'We're all bounded by destiny. We can't change it. Blah blah blah.' Then you get spastic whenever the Hyuuga name was mentioned. Now you're like, 'Oh nooooo. Hinata is going to dump me for some random guy she met just for a few weeks!'."

"That's…"

"True. And you know it."

"I'm not saying it is."

Tenten sighed. It was not like she never knew about Neji's stubborn temper. Trying to convince him about something is usually the equivalent to talking to a wall or bull. "Never mind. I'm going off to search for that idiot. Are you coming along?"

Neji shook his head and unfolded his arms. "I have to run some errands for Hiashi-sama."

The girl's face darkened and she whispered, "Are you still…doing those things?"

"Yes."

"But why…? Neji, you know that you hate doing that."

The Hyuuga prodigy looked up at the sky. He wondered what he was really feeling. It was true. He hated doing the 'errands' that Hiashi had given him. But there was something darker within the purpose of him doing so. Sighing, he replied with the excuse he had used all along whenever someone questioned his loyalty towards the Hyuugas.

"I belong to the Hyuugas. My fate is not for me to decide. That is what the branch members are for..." He turned his gaze away from the blue sky and looked at the concrete floor.

"And that is…why I'm able to survive till now."

* * *

"_Gaara..."_

The Kazekage paused in his tracks.

"_Yes...? Kazekage-sama?"_

He covered his face with his left palm and stared in the distance.

"_I wanted more courage...and more importantly, I remembered how it felt like...to actually mean something to somebody."_

"Gaara? Is something the matter?" A female voice sounded from the left of him. His emerald eyes shifted their gaze and rested on his sister. A puzzled look was displayed on her face. Silently, he shook his head and continued to move forward.

The sand village loomed in the distance and Gaara knew that he was nearly reaching the end of the journey. However, was it simply the journey that was going to end? Somehow, he felt that something else was also broken. It was shattered into many tiny little pieces…and blown away by the strong gusts of wind.

He felt so powerless against it; powerless against the memories of Hinata in his head. It was irony. Imagine what the people would say if they knew that their powerful leader had a weakness?

It was then he remembered that dream.

"_Here we go again…you're always letting go of my hand easily…in order to run back into his arms."_

The Kazekage clenched his fists tightly and stared at the entrance of his hometown. Temari observed her brother carefully; she knew that he had been acting weird since he told Hiashi Hyuuga about the annulment of the marriage.

"Temari…" He spoke in a broken whisper.

"Yes?"

With a look in his eyes that she was unable to comprehend, he continued, "There will be…no more memories, from here on. Things are going to go back to normal."

"Gaara…Are you going to lock yourself away again? Are you going to close your heart on us once more?"

There was no answer as he paced himself and stepped into his village.

"Gaara! Answer me!"

A suddenly splash of sand swirled in front of them and a few sand ninjas appeared. Temari watched in horror as they knelt down in front of Gaara; they were the same few who captured Gaara once and locked him away from the world by force. The 'leader' snarled slightly but nevertheless was respectful.

"We have been expecting you, Gaara-sama."

The red haired boy nodded, and turned about to face Temari. For the first time, he smiled gently. Yet it was not a warm smile. It was…something that contained a hidden sadness.

"I'll be seeing you then."

Temari had a sudden realization that Gaara could possibly have known about the decisions of the Elders, even when she did not.

"No…" In her agitation, she rushed forward towards Gaara, "You can't let them do this to you again! You can't!"

Her troop members held her back, "Temari-sama! You mustn't! It's…"

"It's my fate." Gaara gave her an emotionless look, "It's calling me."

"Gaara!!" She screamed as the four sand ninjas placed their hands together to form a jutsu, and a cloud of sand appeared one more before the five figures in front of her disappeared.

* * *

"It's…disappearing." Hinata gasped and gave a worried look.

Kiba, who had met Hinata along the way and decided to escort her to the Sand Village, was accompanied by Akamaru. "What's disappearing?"

"I…I don't know…but I think it's his presence."

"Gaara?"

"I used to hear him calling out, some way or another. Yet it's getting softer and softer now. I have a bad feeling about this, Kiba-kun."

Akamaru barked and sniffed the air. Kiba growled slightly and turned towards her, "We have to hurry. A storm is approaching soon."

Hinata nodded and quickened her pace. The darkness brought about by the nearing clouds scared her a little and she prayed hard that they would be able to reach the Sand Village soon.

_Dark...Darkness..._

_It's getting dark..._

She blinked. "Kazekage…sama?"

"Hinata! Hurry!"

_Someone...anyone..._

_Dark...It's dark in here..._

"I'm…I'm coming!" Hinata was not sure whether she was responding to Kiba or the voice. "I'll…I'll be there soon!"

**Please wait for me…**

* * *

Sakura: Okay. That's all for now. I still haven't really decided on what Hinata is going to do when she gets there…But I have some pretty good ideas. So the next chapter is probably going to be quite good.

Stay tuned then Thanks for all those who have reviewed! For those who have not, **please read and review! Thanks!**

For those who don't know what in the world is going on (because my story is too messy) :

The Sand Village elders had used 'administrative work' as an excuse to get Gaara back to the village, so that they can lock him up and stuff. Temari's agitated because she has seen this before and does not want her brother to be locked up once again. Gaara knows about their plan (somehow) and accepts it.

And uh…Neji…Let's just say he's doing some dirty work for the Hyuugas. (and no, it had nothing to do with laundry washing.)

The words in italics that Gaara hears are his memories with Hinata and the words in italics that Hinata hears…is a secret. Fuahahaha.

Does this mean we'll have GaaraxHina? Well, I bet you wish we do. But too bad…I like to play around with the characters, so things might change. -more manical laughter-


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